In the electronics industry, electronic equipment is typically mounted in enclosures or cabinets to facilitate installation, interfacing with related equipment, and to facilitate access by technicians for servicing and repair. One recognized standard enclosure used by electronic equipment manufacturers is the 19-inch standard for mounting electronic equipment or sub chassis into an enclosure. The 19-inch enclosure standard is defined by the Electronics Industries Association standard EIA310. The EIA310 standard, which is incorporated by reference herein, defines the specifications for the mounting of 19-inch panels and equipment. In compliance with this standard, electronic equipment manufacturers provide products, for example, computers or computer peripheral equipment, that are mountable or installable into 19-inch enclosures, cabinets, or racks, as they are referred to in the art.
Conventional electronic equipment racks include some form of frame or support structure upon which the equipment is mounted, typically by mechanical fasteners. This frame provides the structural support of the equipment while providing access to electrical conduit, that is, wires and cables, for power and data transfer. Panels, typically sheet metal or plastic are typically mounted to the frame to protect the equipment and to provide an aesthetically pleasing appearance to the cabinet.
Conventional cabinets or racks typically include some form of casters mounted on the bottom of the cabinet for facilitating installation, removal, and servicing of the equipment mounted in the rack. Conventional cabinets may also include some form of seismic support for preventing vibration damage to the equipment or toppling of the cabinets during an earthquake. In conventional equipment racks, casters and seismic supports are typically mounted to a sheet metal plate secured to the bottom of the cabinet. However, the mounting of the casters and seismic supports to the thin sheet metal of the cabinet is somewhat prone to damaging the sheet metal or failure of the caster or support during transport, handling, or vibration loading (for example, an earthquake). There is a need in the art to provide improved structural stiffness and strength to the mounting of casters and seismic supports to cabinets holding electronic equipment.
As would be expected, electronic equipment cabinets typically also contain numerous electrical conduits, that is, wires and cables, for power and data transfer. However, depending upon the equipment in the cabinet the number of conduits may be quite numerous and unwieldy. The presence of many exposed conduits, even when properly secured, can interfere with the installation and servicing of the cabinet as well as be prone to damage during installation and servicing. There is a need in the art to provide electronic equipment cabinets in which such cabling can be secured and possibly hidden to facilitate installation and servicing.
One electronic component that is typically installed in conventional electronic equipment cabinets is a power input unit, that is, the unit or component that receives electric power from an external source, such as a power outlet, and through which power is provided to the equipment in the cabinet. The power input unit may include some form of power conditioning if necessary. In conventional electronic equipment cabinets, the power input unit is typically located within the cabinet, that is, behind a panel or sheet metal barrier and thus not readily accessible to the operator or technician. Thus, in order to access the power input unit, a panel or barrier must be removed. This can be inconvenient when attempting to install, service, or simply access the power input unit. In addition, locating the power input unit within the envelope of the cabinet can consume valuable space within the cabinet that could be used for other equipment. There is also a need in the art to facilitate access to the power input unit of an electronic equipment cabinet, or to more advantageously use the space within the equipment cabinet.
These and other deficiencies of the prior art equipment cabinets are addressed by the present invention.